


A Ghost's Revival

by Insilises



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: A little bit of angst but not a lot I promise, Counseling, Depression, Gay Romance, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Napstablook gets cared for and Mettaton gets a romance. Everyone's happy., Napstablook has depression, Prejudice Against Monsters (Undertale), Psychologists & Psychiatrists
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:27:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23940805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Insilises/pseuds/Insilises
Summary: A few weeks after the monsters leave the Underground, they reside in Barnley, Oregon beside Mt. Ebott. Mettaton immediately puts Napstablook in counseling, and according to his counselor, Napstablook may have depression. Leon Fox, a psychiatrist, finds Napstablook's case as the perfect opportunity to learn more about monsters, not realizing how difficult monster biology is to understand. Leon and Mettaton both need to learn how to take care of Napstablook, and as a result, they form a deep relationship.
Relationships: Mettaton (Undertale)/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 4





	A Ghost's Revival

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you enjoy this fic! I worked hard to research depression and mental illness, so I hope everything is correct. If you have any criticism or corrections on how depression and mental illness work, I'd really appreciate it. Also, I may eventually change the character's names and pronouns to be y/n and gender-neutral if you guys want an x reader experience. It would not take any time at all to do this, and I would be happy to do so in order to make the reading experience more fun and comfortable. :)

Mettaton walked with Napstablook along the stretch of sidewalk, “I can’t believe it’s been three weeks outside. Freedom,” he paused, “Is nice.”

Napstablook spoke softly, “It is. The sun is nicer than I thought it would be.”

“Really? I’m not sure what I expected, so I can’t say anything about that. I thought I knew what it was going to be, but I really didn’t have a clue.” They walked in silence for a few minutes until Mettaton spoke again, “How’s the counseling, by the way?”

“I cried.”

Mettaton gasped softly, “I’m sorry, Blooky. What happened?”

“No, I think,” He stopped walking, “I think it was good.”

Mettaton stared at him, “Are you sure, Darling?”

Napstablook nodded and began walking again, “It was weird. I told her everything that happened. I told him about Frisk, about the Underground, about everyone, and I even talked about you. She said this must be good because I have more people to talk to.”

“Well, that makes sense. I… Ignored you. I really did, and you need other people to talk to than me anyways.”

Napstablook looked down.

“There was something else that you’re not telling me, wasn’t there?”

“Yeah,” Napstablook made eye contact with Mettaton, “She said I might be depressed, but she’d need to talk to me more to diagnose me.” Mettaton stayed quiet, and Napstablook continued after a while, “She said she might have to get a psychiatrist to diagnose me.”

“I see. This wasn’t because of me, was it?”

“She said that if I am, it’s probably “multiple factors.” I don’t think you caused it.”

“Either way, we should listen to them. I don’t know anything about this, and if seeing this “psychiatrist” will help, we need to let you see them.”

Meanwhile, Gaster read the morning paper, sitting rigid on the cushioned chair while Alphys scrolled through Twitter. A knock on the door made both monsters jump, Gaster nearly spilling his tea. He tried to regain his composure and looked to Alphys to get the door, but her face was still buried in her phone. Gaster opened the door slowly and was met with a human with an almost controlled grin.

“Hi, you must be,” The human paused for a second, “Either Doctor Alphys or Gaster. I’m sorry.” The human looked up and hugged his bag, “The only description I got was that you’re both monsters, so I don’t know which is which.” He gave a pathetic mix of a laugh and sigh.

Gaster’s chuckle was barely heard, “I’m Gaster, and Alphys is inside.”

“I see, well, I’m Doctor Leon Fox. I’m really sorry to bother you, but I need help understanding monster anatomy, and you two are the only ones that would know anything about that.” Leon shot his arm out toward Gaster.

Gaster began, shaking his hand, “Well, it’s not too different from humans, but I couldn’t give you a lecture on it and be done.”

“All of medicine is like that. Are there any resources you might be able to point me in the direction of? That’s all I’m asking for. None of my libraries have anything on monsters yet.” Leon looked down, “Anything at all would be helpful. Please?”

Gaster sighed softly, “I’m sure we have something that could help. Come in?” He moved out of the doorway.

Leon nodded with a small “Thank you,” and stepped inside.

Gaster led him through the house, which was small but enough for two people, and into the dining room where Alphys was finishing up her breakfast. “Alphys, this is Doctor Fox, and he needs some help. I’m a little busy, so could you help him?”

Alphys sat up, “Oh, yeah, definitely.” She paused for a few seconds, “What does he need help with exactly?”

“Monster anatomy, Ma’am. I’d like to start seeing monster patients as soon as possible, but I can’t do that if I don’t know how their bodies work.”

“You’re a medical doctor?”

Leon nodded, “I am. I’m a psychiatrist.” Alphys gave a little “hm” of interest, and Leon continued, “Are you two… Not medical doctors?”

Alphys shrugged, “I guess we’re more like… General scientists?”

“Then you don’t specialize in anything?”

“Yeah! I built a robot and Gaster built a power plant, so we really just do, you know, science in general. We don’t really need medical doctors because our bodies are so different. We don’t need medicine like humans do.”

“But you can still tell me about your anatomy, right?”

“Kind of. Notice how most monsters don’t look the same? The soul’s what matters since we’re more magic than physical matter. So I guess it’s not really anatomy, but… I don’t know the word I’m looking for.”

Leon looked up, “It sounds more spiritual. Do you have any books on this? That’s how I learn best.”

“Oh, yeah! As long as you don’t mess anything up in there and put everything back, I don’t mind. Gaster?” Gaster was nowhere to be found in the room, “Oh, I guess he left. Go ahead and use the library and let me know what you find.”

Only a week after Leon first asked to use Gaster’s library, Leon returned with the books he borrowed.

Gaster let him in the house again, following him into the library, “You saw your patient, didn’t you? How did that go?”

“Good. I’ve been able to talk to him, but I can’t diagnose or anything yet. He shows all the symptoms and signs of depression, and if he was human, I’d say he has it.” Leon put the books back where he found them earlier, “I just don’t feel comfortable with it.

I want to know what causes it. In humans, it’s normally the brain. Neurotransmitters. The areas in the brain.” He crossed his arms, “ I don’t know about monsters though.”

“I’m sure you know that monsters’ bodies aren’t physical,” Gaster hinted.

“Right, it’s their souls. So something’s wrong with the soul? But how can we treat that?” Leon leaned against the door of the library.

“Well,” Gaster began, “To treat a monster medically, medicine should work, but instead of focusing on one part of the body, you would need to focus on the soul to develop it.” He went across the room, reached to the top of a bookcase, and showed the cover to Leon, “This is outdated by a few decades, but this is the best you can find on medicine for monsters.”

“Very outdated… Do monsters just not research this, or…?”

“There aren’t exactly many doctors. We don’t have a lot of resources to begin with, and we don’t have a large scientific community.”

“I couldn’t imagine that. Doing research is already hard, and I couldn’t imagine being one of a few doctors in the world. I probably wouldn’t be one if I didn’t have all the opportunities I had.” Leon sighed and looked up to Gaster, uncrossing his arms,

“Anyways, thank you, Doctor. I’ll go ahead and leave.” He turned.

“Was I able to help, Fox?” Gaster called out before he left.

Leon turned back towards Gaster before leaving, “Definitely. Thank you very much.”

On his way out, he noticed a figure about six feet tall in the living room talking to Alphys. They were lanky and metallic. With a heart in their chest, great, pink shoulder pads, and metal skin, they were nothing like anything Leon had ever seen. The figure towered over Alphys and spoke with a thick, deep voice, “I’ve never seen Blooky do this. He told me that he wants to see me more, so I told him to visit me at the station and that I’d make time for him. I didn’t think he would because he’s never done anything like that, but he did. I think that counselor has helped him.”

“Oh, Mettaton? That’s Fox.” Alphys pointed to Leon who did not realize he was spoken to.

“Darling!” the Mettaton’s voice boomed across the room, “You. You’re Doctor Fox? The counselor helping Blooky, right?”

“Oh, I’m a psychiatrist.” After taking a second to process who he was talking about, Leon’s eyes widened, and he finally joined the conversation, “Blooky, as in Napstablook?”

“Yes. You’re helping him, right?” Leon nodded. Mettaton continued, “You know, I appreciate it. I should be paying you more for this, you know. I’ve never seen Blooky act so confident. He asks me for things when he needs them and to hang out.”

Leon blushed, “Well, the counselor’s been talking to him for two weeks, so that’s mostly her. I’ve seen him make progress, and even though it’s small, he’s going to make even more progress as time goes on. I’m really glad it’s noticeable to you. You must pay a lot of attention.”

“I’ve tried to get him to spend time with me more for a long time, and now he does. That’s more than I could have asked for, Darling.” Mettaton looked at him in the eyes, “You’ve done so much. If there’s any way I can help, let me know.” He winked.

“Well, just tell me if he has any strange behaviors or wants to talk. I’m glad that you care. Show him that you do as well. You’re the only family that he’s close to, so you need to support him emotionally as best you can.”

“I plan on it, Doctor. Thank you for everything.”

“You’re welcome. I’m here to help.” Leon sighed and left for home.


End file.
